Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the state of the economy was “deeply worrying” and that “all-round mismanagement by the Modi government” has resulted in this slowdown.
In a statement, he said that the last quarter GDP growth rate of 5 per cent signals that “we are in midst of a prolonged slowdown”.
“India has the potential to grow at a much faster rate, but all-round mismanagement by the Modi government has resulted in this slow down.
“It is particularly distressing that the manufacturing sector’s growth is tottering at 0.6%. This makes it very clear that our economy has not yet recovered from the man-made blunders of demonetisation and a hastily implemented GST.”
Singh added that the country cannot afford to continue down this path, urging the government to help save the economy from the current crisis.
“I urge the government to put aside vendetta politics, and reach out to all sane voices and thinking minds, to steer our economy out of this man-made crisis.”
He continued to list out some of the issues in the current economy. He said that domestic demand is depressed, consumption growth is at an 18-month low and nominal GDP growth is at a 15-year low. The former PM added that investor sentiments are in doldrums before adding that these are “not the foundations for economic recovery”.
Singh slammed the Modi government’s policies that have resulted in massive job-less growth.